MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday urged his fellow senator-judges and all participants in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to be circumspect with the use of words to protect the proceedings’ integrity.
Cayetano issued the call days after the viral exchanges between the prosecution and defense panels, including senator-judges, during the trial that included terms and phrases such as "stupid," "nice try," "modus operandi," and "scam," among others.
"Let's be circumspect without pointing fingers to anyone — for both sides. Because when there’s a certain word that may not only be negative but may also carry an emotional attachment, that’s going to go viral" Cayetano said during the 18th day of the impeachment trial.
“It will really affect the integrity not only of the court but of the decision sa huli,” he added.
Cayetano said the problem with coming up with certain words is that it has a net effect on the audience.
“We admire your passion in trying to prove your allegations, but we're also all aware that the medium is the message,” he said.
The senator likened it to “mind conditioning” since the trial airs in real time, unlike decades ago when words can be stricken off the record from radio and television.
He said that only words already used from pleadings, included in the articles of impeachment, or used by witnesses are acceptable.
"Let’s all be aware that when we say it—even if we say ‘withdrawn,’ for both sides, ha—even if you say this has been withdrawn, or even if you say ‘nice try, nice try,’ etc., we know that those statements are for the cameras and not just for the court, right?" Cayetano said.
"In the future, when mistakes are made, let’s not kid ourselves. We, the senator-judges, make mistakes too… But once you’ve said something, it takes on a life of its own. That’s why we have to be more circumspect in choosing our words," he added.
